To help address these concerns going forward, the following is submitted for adoption by the Joint Council.

Consistent with ALAA’s democratic tradition, union headquarters will provide all members with:

1. Complete, prompt, factual written reports on each collective bargaining session, and of each decision (including maker of motion, vote tallies and how each representative voted) taken by the Executive and Bargaining Committees and the Joint Council.

2. Text of memoranda of agreement between ALAA’s bargaining committee and management, prior to contract ratification.

At tonight’s JC’s meeting lets have a talk about process. I do not know [K.] personally, but I want to thank her for calling into question the actions of the union leadership publicly and demanding that the EB return to the bargaining table. She was criticized harshly for “mischaracterizing” the actions of the EB. However, but for her actions, we would not be where we are today, deciding on a negotiated contract offer, albeit a very poor one. So thank you [K.] and everyone else on the EB whose vote was overruled but who knew sending that sorry initial offer to the membership was a cave in. We should all thank her.

Once again, I call for general membership meetings when issues arise that impact us union wide and that such meetings be scheduled in a timely manner during work hours. We should also have monthly bargaining updates whether there is a lull in negotiations or not. Lastly, we should have a candidates forum for elections during which both contested and non contested candidates can field questions, express their reasons for running for office and their plans for the future. Process, transparency and process. You can never get around that.

It is now a year since the Egyptian Revolution began and none of its’ demands have yet to be met. Our brothers and sisters are ALREADY out on the streets – in Tahrir Square in Cairo and other cities – demanding a civilian and democratic government and an end to the ruling dictatorial SCAF.

The Egyptian people demand:

1. The honoring, morally as well as financially of the families of 900+ protesters murdered and injured during the Egyptian revolution.

2. Immediate release of the detainees and end to all militarily trials of civilians.

3. Abolish military tribunals for civilians.

4. Bring to justice all government officials accountable, all who gave or executed orders to kill protesters over the past 12 months.

Now is our chance to stand in true solidarity with the people of Egyptian during one of the most crucial moments in Egyptian history. Now is our chance to show them that they are indeed not alone; the entire world is watching and participating.

We invite everyone to bring their families, friends and comrades to this much-needed action.

When we are finished, we will head to the Ad Hoc Coalition to Defend the Egyptian Revolution’s Panel on Egypt @8pm at Alwan for the Arts, linked below:

TONIGHT: Thurs., Jan. 19, 7 p.m.Screening of Frontiers of Dreams and FearsHeartfelt documentary from award-winning filmmaker Mai Masri explores the enduring friendship that evolves between two Palestinian girls—Mona, who was born and raised in the economically marginalized Shatila refugee camp in Beirut, and Manar, who lives in the Dheisha refugee camp under Israeli control.Location: Alwan for the Arts, 16 Beaver, 4th Floor, ManhattanDetails: https://www.facebook.com/events/342102132483779/

TONIGHT: Thurs., Jan. 19, 8-10 p.m.#OWS Teach-In: Popular Resistance, Militarized Repression:US Tear Gas from Cairo to OaklandOur tax dollars continue to fund violence against protestors in Egypt, Bahrain, Palestine and other places around the world and in American cities. This is our time to honor the Arab Spring, the inspiration of Occupy, and to show our solidarity with those who fight for dignity everywhere.Location: Walker Stage, 56 Walker St., ManhattanDetails: http://www.defendegyptianrevolution.org/2012/01/13/january-19-us-tear-gas-from-cairo-to-oakland-an-ows-teach-in/

TOMORROW: Fri., Jan. 20, 9:30-12:30 p.m.Pack the Courthouse for IntikanaOn the early morning of Tuesday, November 15, 2011, RDACBX member and Bronx artist Intikana was brutalized and arrested by police while filming on Fulton and Broadway in Manhattan during NYPD’s raid on Zuccotti Park (aka Liberty Plaza).Location: New York City Criminal Court 346 Broadway, Manhattan, Jury Part 7.Details: https://www.facebook.com/events/217189368366795/

Fri., Jan. 27, 1 p.m.The STOP Stop and Frisk campaign is finally coming to the BronxCome to bear witness, to participate in the rallies, to build with others committed to this struggle, to bring ideas, and to mobilize to say NO to the new Jim Crow.149 St. and 3 Ave., BronxDetails: Jessica Gusberg, JRP-Bk

The STOP Stop and Frisk campaign will support a rally at 8:30am at which mothers will speak out to challenge the continued, daily harassment of their children by the NYPD. Mary Black and other mothers who are refusing to stay silent and are emerging as new leaders of a movement to end racist policing and the criminalization of their children. After the rally, the campaign will then head inside to pack the court room for Mary Black’s son’s court date — he was arrested for disorderly conduct after questioning why the police were stopping him during a heinous stop and frisk in Harlem in early December.

Further details with the court part information for Jimmy Black forthcoming. You can also contact Jessica Gusberg by cell or text on Tuesday morning for location details.

This Thursday, January 12th at 9pm, the STOP Stop and Frisk campaign will attend this event from 7pm – 9pm at Harlem’s historic Abyssinian Baptist Church where Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness will be speaking. After the event, at 9pm, the STOP Stop and Frisk activists will march through Harlem to eventually commit civil disobedience. Activists from the campaign will commit to taking up the NYPD’s time with these arrests in place of the heinous stops and frisks that would normally be going on at this hour.

If anyone can serve as a legal observer, please let me know. If you have not been trained as a legal observer but would like to serve, please let me know.

The LAS inter-divisional work group in support of STOP Stop and Frisk is here!

We will hold the first LAS organizing meeting to STOP Stop and Frisk on:

Tuesday, January 10th at 6:00 p.m.

at the Harlem Community Law Offices

230 East 106th Street between 2nd and 3rd Aves, NYC

Nearest Train Station is #6 to 103rd Street

There is powerful energy building throughout the city — people from all neighborhoods and boroughs are taking a stand to STOP Stop and Frisk! Let’s join together and figure out where we can strategically fit into the struggle. We plan to take stock of current and upcoming campaigns, movements, and litigation throughout the city, and then brainstorm how LAS can support the community struggle and take a stand against Stop and Frisk using our particular lens, access, skills, and ideas. Come be a part of a sustained organizing effort within The Legal Aid Society to put an end to these racist, illegal practices of the NYPD and fight the racially targeted pipeline from communities of color into a system of mass incarceration.

Please RSVP, or let us know if you cannot attend but would like to be informed of future meetings.

This Thursday, January 12th at 9pm, the STOP Stop and Frisk campaign will attend this event from 7pm – 9pm at Harlem’s historic Abyssinian Baptist Church where Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness will be speaking. After the event, at 9pm, the STOP Stop and Frisk activists will march through Harlem to eventually commit civil disobedience. Activists from the campaign will commit to taking up the NYPD’s time with these arrests in place of the heinous stops and frisks that would normally be going on at this hour.

If anyone can serve as a legal observer, please let me know. If you have not been trained as a legal observer but would like to serve, please let me know.